CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday accused Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay of taking political credit for the arrest of granite baron R Veeramani in a POCSO case, alleging that TVK govt had, in fact, delayed his arrest for two-and-a-half months despite a court order. He described Vijay’s claim as a “blatant lie” manufactured for political mileage in the bypolls.Campaigning for AIADMK candidate Kanitha Sampath at L Endathur in Madurantakam constituency on Saturday, Palaniswami said Veeramani had been arrested only following a court order and not on the CM’s instructions.Palaniswami cited the sequence of court proceedings to support his allegation that TVK govt had “deliberately” delayed action against Veeramani. He said DMK govt had registered an FIR but no action had been taken. “The case came up for hearing in June, after TVK assumed power, but govt advocates sought an adjournment. They sought another adjournment when the case came up on July 20. On Aug 3, they sought an adjournment for the third time instead of filing the final report. The judge rejected the request and ordered Veeramani’s arrest,” he said.“The judge issued the order, thinking that TVK govt was intentionally and deliberately delaying the case to help the perpetrator,” Palaniswami said. Veeramani had been arrested after the case came up for hearing on Aug 27, he added.“It was the TVK govt that delayed legal action. Chief minister C Joseph Vijay’s govt delayed the arrest of the person who exploited young children and protected him for two-and-a-half months,” he said.Palaniswami questioned the association between Veeramani and two TVK ministers, K Venkataraman and D Logesh Tamilselvan. Showing photographs of the ministers sharing a stage with Veeramani, he said one of them had described the granite baron, who was facing a POCSO case, as a “family friend.” He alleged that this association raised questions about the govt’s handling of the case.Turning to the bypoll, Palaniswami accused TVK candidate K Maragatham of resigning as an MLA and joining the ruling party after receiving a “suitcase”. He appealed to voters to punish her through the ballot on Oct 6.He accused TVK govt of failing to maintain law and order, claiming that 250 murders and 300 cases of sexual assault against women and children had been reported in its first four months.Targeting Vijay’s financial management, Palaniswami claimed that govt would borrow Rs 1.50 lakh crore by the end of the financial year. It had already borrowed Rs 40,000 crore in its first four months, he said, warning that the additional debt would increase the state’s existing liabilities of Rs 10 lakh crore.He criticised Vijay’s London visit, questioning the signing of an MoU with an Indian company that already had 32 branches across the country, including in Tamil Nadu. He alleged that the visit had yielded little, given the state’s financial situation. “Everyone knows why the CM went to London,” he said.
